Growing Pains
by pandascupcakesteaandbooks
Summary: Stefan saved Matt from the river, leaving Elena to die, just like she wanted. However, she wakes up at home with Damon at the end of the bed, who delivers some very bad news. Damon becomes her rock through her massive life change. A Delena story. Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Growing Pains.**

**Chapter 1 (Elena's POV)**

_[Elena has just woken up from the water; Stefan saved Matt first, and then Elena died. But she died with Damon's blood in her system and so she is now in transition into a vampire]_

Noise. Loud noises. My throat felt tight, extremely tight. It was dark. I felt cold. My throat felt tighter and tighter and I realised I couldn't breathe. There was light in front of me. I was drowning. I struggled to breathe, drowning underwater. The water was pushing down on me, I felt trapped. A hand appeared next to me, reaching out to me as if to save me. I barely had any strength left in me, but I didn't want to die alone. I needed to hold someone's hand so I wasn't alone. I reached back for the hand, and as soon as I touched it, I felt oxygen flood through my body. It was too much for me. I gasped and my eyes opened wide. I sat up quickly, looking around me, checking there was no more water around. But there wasn't. I was safe. But I wasn't alone.

Damon Salvatore was at the end of my bed. He jumped when I awoke; apparently I had been still for a while. He looked worried, relieved and disturbed all at once.

"Damon," I breathed, relieved to see him. His hand was on mine; I guessed that was why I dreamt there was a hand reaching out to me.

"Hey," he breathed back. He couldn't keep eye contact with me, and this made me feel extremely anxious.

"Wh-what happened?" I burst out, determined to know what was so bad that he couldn't look at me. He took a breath and looked down.

"You were in an accident."

"Oh my god.." I replied, looking all around, trying to remember anything I could. Then it hit me. "Matt! Is he-"

"Alive?" He was extremely blunt. "Thanks to Stefan, the hero". Now he was just being sarcastic.

"What do you mean? Is he okay?"

"He's fine." Damon said, bluntly. I sighed with relief.

"Thank you," I took his hand, placed it in both of mine and rubbed it with my thumb. "Wait. Thanks to Stefan?"

Damon looked down. He looked mad. Extremely mad.

"It wasn't difficult to figure out what Rebekah had in mind. Stefan and I came to Wickery Bridge as quickly as we could, but the car was already in the water. I was about to jump in, but Stefan beat me to it. Next thing I know, he's got Matt. Not you."

"But, if he didn't save me-"

"After you collapsed, you were taken to the hospital. Meredith was your doctor, and she had to make a choice. You didn't have concussion, you had severe bleeding in your brain. She…" He still couldn't look at me, and guilt spread across his face. He swallowed, looked me right in the eye and said, "She used my blood to heal you." My face must have looked more confused than I felt, because Damon continued talking. "When Rebekah made Matt drive the truck off the road, you had my blood in your system. Vampire blood." He was getting angrier and angrier the more he spoke. But he didn't need to say anymore, and he knew that. The realisation of what that meant hit me like a ton of bricks. My chest felt heavier, I was dizzy and lost feeling in my legs; it was lucky I was sitting down.

"Does that mean.. Am I dead?" I could barely get the words out. Damon stood up, and began pacing, running his hands through his hair. Oh god, I thought. Oh god, oh god, this is it.

"THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Damon whipped around to face me, his arms flailing in anger. "YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT? IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE YOU. MATT SHOULD HAVE DIED AND I SHOULD HAVE SAVED YOU, NOT STEFAN." Damon shouted back. The part about Matt hurt. Really hurt. But Damon should have saved me. But in a way, he did. Without his blood, I would be dead. But without human blood, I would die anyway.

"I can't be a vampire," I whispered. I could feel Damon's heart break. He knew if I didn't feed, then I would die. But I couldn't be a vampire. "Is there anything that can be done?" My voice was quavering, my heart pounding. "Can't we call Bonnie-"?

"No, the only thing to do is complete the transition. Feed or die." And with that, he stormed out. I called after him, but it was useless. He wasn't coming back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**(Damon's POV)**

Okay. So I shouldn't have shouted at her. And I shouldn't have left. What was my plan now? Confrontation. Dealing with my little brother. I hadn't seen him since he killed Elena. That's how I'm seeing this. He left her to die. He killed her. And I was going to make sure he knew it.

I arrived back home and parked the car. I knew Stefan was in, and I stormed into the house. I was greeted by the view of Stefan, sitting on the sofa, crying into a glass of my Bourbon. He looked at me when I entered; his pathetic sad eyes met my angry ones. He knew what was coming. Shoot now, think later, I thought.

"YOU SAVED MATT, RATHER THAN ELENA? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" I shouted at him. He remained on the sofa, moving the glass around in his hand.'

"I know," he said quietly. This only made me angrier.

"WHY? WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU CHOOSE THE QUARTERBACK OVER ELENA? WHAT POSSESSED YOU TO DO SUCH A DUMBASS THING?"

"Elena told me to," again, he spoke so quietly.

Rage filled inside me. I wanted to kill him. "So Elena tells you to save the quarterback, rather than herself, and you do it? You dived in the water before me to be the hero, but instead you save some guy over the girl we both love? Do you realise that Elena died? She didn't die because Rebekah drove the truck off the road, she died because you jumped in first and saved someone else. If I had jumped in there, I would have got her first. Heck, I would have got them both out. But no, you didn't do that. And now she's stuck in transition, with a big decision floating over her head about whether or not she wants to become a vampire. And do you know why? Because YOU killed her." There. I said it. I didn't stay to see how much that hurt him because I couldn't bare to look at him. I had to get away. Because he had killed the love of my life, and I had to make sure that she didn't die again.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Elena's POV**

My gums felt like agony. I knew it would be my fangs preparing to grow, but my god it hurt so much. I could hear the electricity buzzing into the light bulb. It was too much; I ripped the lampshade off and broke the bulb with my hand. Jeremy was watching me from the doorway.

"I'm fine," I said, as I rushed past him. I headed into the kitchen to make myself some food. Jeremy followed me.

"Hey, I'll do that." He took the food I was holding out of my hand and made me a sandwich. When he was done, we both sat on the island block in the middle of the kitchen and I prepared to eat. I took a bit. It tasted foul.

"it's disgusting," Jeremy said.

"No! It's.. umm.." I struggled to think of words.

"Disgusting."

"Yeah, I'm gonna puke," I spat the food out into a tissue. We both had to laugh. I sighed. "I can't stop thinking about blood, Jer."

"it's gonna be hard, but we'll get you through it. Bonnie might be able to find a way, but don't pin all your hopes onto something that might happen. Go back upstairs, stay in the dark. I'll clean up."

I went upstairs, to find Damon in my room. I smiled, "I thought you left!"

"Cute pjs," he replied.

I looked down; I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. "I'm not wearing-" There was someone else in my room. It was me! I was sitting on my bed. And Damon wasn't really here, he was talking to that Elena. Was I dreaming? No. It was a memory. A memory I didn't know I had.

"I'm tired, Damon," other Elena said. Damon walked over to other me and held up my necklace.

"Brought you this," he said.

"I thought that was gone, thank you," I heard myself say. I then saw myself go to take the necklace, when Damon moved it out of reach.

Then I snapped out of it. I looked around my room, but other me and Damon had gone. Why couldn't I remember? How could I forget? I looked out the door, into the corridor, but turned back when I heard Damon's voice again.

"I just have to say something."

"Why do you have to say it with my necklace?"

"Because what I'm about to say is probably the most selfish thing I've ever said in my life."

"Damon, don't go there."

"I just have to say it once. You just have to hear it. I love you, Elena. And it's because I love you that I can't be selfish with you. I don't deserve you. But my brother does." He kissed my forehead. "God, I wish you didn't have to forget this. But you do." He compelled me. That's why I couldn't remember. He told me he loved me then he took my memories away. That was so Damon.

_[I don't need to write the next few scenes, as we all know what happens. The council takes Caroline; Elena gets abducted by Pastor Young, Elena feeds and becomes a vampire. So I've skipped to the bit where Elena tells Damon about how she remembers everything, but I've put it into a different setting]._

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Elena's POV**

I knew what I had to do. I remembered everything. The last thing I said to Damon before I died was "maybe if we had met first." We had met first. So I was going to stick to what I told him. We met first, and I knew my feelings for Damon were stronger than anything I had for Stefan.

Stefan was busy looking after Matt and Caroline, so I knew it would be safe for us to talk at the Salvatore boarding house. I walked there, all the way from my house, just to tell Damon everything he wanted to hear. I had time to think while I walked. Being a vampire was safe for me. Klaus wouldn't want my doppelgänger blood, and I was strong enough to keep my friends and family safe. Everything had been heightened, especially my feelings for Damon. I'm glad that I turned into a vampire, and Damon needed to know that.

I arrived at the Salvatore house, and could hear Damon pacing around in his room. I walked straight in and up to his room. I stopped in the doorway, and he turned to face me. He looked shocked to see me; perhaps he was expecting to see Stefan standing there.

"I remember everything." I said without thinking. I had a whole speech planned but my heart was controlling my mouth. This time, Damon kept eye contact with me. I was relieved. "One of the highlights of my transition, remembering everything you compelled me to forget," I sounded more forceful and aggressive than I felt. I sighed, and a smile spread across my face. "You and I met first."

Damon's eye lit up as he became to piece together why I looked so happy at that thought. I felt myself welling up, tears filled my eyes; tears of joy. "You were a complete stranger, who told me he wanted me to get everything I wanted from life." A single tear fell from my right eye. I stepped towards Damon. "Damon, why didn't you tell me?" he looked down at the ground before making eye contact again and asking me the question that had been haunting him for years.

"Would it have made a difference?"

Another tear fell from my eye and the smile grew wider. I looked him directly in the eye and said, "yes."

Happiness flooded both Damon's heart and mine as we both realised what this meant. If I knew that Damon had met me first, we would be together. But then, an insight hit me.

"Damon, if I knew, then we would have been together all this time. I would have been protected by you-"

"Yes, we would, and of course I would have protected you-"

"but this still would have happened. I would have still gone off the bridge. Only this time, Matt would be dead. And I wouldn't be a vampire. I would be human. Living with survivor's guilt." Damon hung his head. He knew that if we were together, Stefan would be far away, and it would have been Damon who saved me rather than saving Matt. I couldn't bare that thought. I had to go. I had to leave. I needed to think.

"I'm sorry Damon, I have to go," I ran out of the house, away from Damon, away from what could have been, both in the past and in the future. For once, I was grateful for the existence of Stefan Salvatore.

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

**Elena's POV**

As soon as I started to run, I picked up incredible speed and was travelling at the speed of light. Everything around me was blurred, it was so unreal. I was running so fast, I could barely feel the ground beneath my feet; it was like I was flying. Perhaps I was. I became so powerful, able to run at such high speed, away from anything I wanted. I could run away from anything. I felt protected. And then I realised how beneficial being a vampire can be. I didn't know where I was going, and at the speed I was travelling, it was hard to tell where I was. But my feet knew, and they took me exactly where I needed to be. Wickery Bridge.

I stopped a few feet away from the bridge. It was so quiet here; it was peaceful and safe, which was ironic considering all that had happened here. The death, the near-death experiences. This bridge held so many memories, none of them good. I had nearly died here twice, and actually died here. I began to walk towards the bridge, the brightly lit moon guiding my way. There was no sound around here at all, and I wasn't sure if it was my new vampire super-hearing or not, but my footsteps were amplified in the cool evening air.

I walked right up to the edge of the bridge, climbed on the wall then sat down, letting my feet dangle over the water. The water was perfectly still, the sky, stars and moon above were reflected perfectly. There was so breeze, but the air was quite cold, but not enough for it to bother me. Time for reflection, I thought.

I don't know why I ran away from Damon. I can't explain it. I had all of these ideas running through my mind, all that was and all that could have been. I left Damon alone, all because Matt could have died. If Damon had jumped in, he would have saved me immediately, made sure I was safe before even considering rescuing Matt. Then Matt would have died, and I would have survivor's guilt. I was glad that Stefan listened to what I wanted, because now both Matt and I are alive. Well. Matt is. But at least I'm still here. I can be with the ones I love. I can protect them.

I was getting myself overly worked out, crying about something that never happened. I kept thinking about how I would be if Matt had died, and then I would sit on this bridge and cry my eyes out, and then I'd remember that he was alive and well, probably working back at the Grill, and I'd be okay again. I kept flicking between crying and smiling for about an hour, and then I realised why. My emotions were heightened. I was a vampire now. Another perk of being a vampire is amplified hearing; footsteps were heading my way. They were slow footsteps, very cautious of what was ahead of them, like they knew I was here. Damon. I kept looking forward, switching between looking at the still, calm water then up to the glittering stars above. I never realised how beautiful it was before now.

Damon was right behind me. I knew he'd come and find me. And I loved how he knew I'd be here. What I also loved about Damon is that he knew I didn't like being pressured to talk. If I wanted to talk, I would. He sat down on the wall next to me, dangling his feet above the water and said nothing. I had my walls up when I left, but his presence made me drop them immediately. I succumbed, and went to hug him; as soon as we hugged, I grabbed onto him for dear life and cried. His strong arms were wrapped around me and I nuzzled into the crook of his neck. I breathed in his smell, and it calmed me down. He stroked my back, soothing me, and I soon stopped crying. I moved from the crook of his neck and looked him straight in the eye.

"Take me home." I said. He didn't need telling twice. And he also knew what I meant by 'home'. He scooped me up into his arms and within moments, I was safe in Damon Salvatore's bed. He laid me down, and then took my shoes off. I got down from the bed, and took off my jacket. Looking at a very confused Damon, I pulled my top off, over my head and dropped it on the floor. I then stepped out of my jeans, until I was just in my black matching underwear. Damon realised what I wanted; comfy pjs and bed. He went over to his dresser and pulled out his favourite pyjamas, which were of a traditional style and stripy blue. He held them out to me, and I took my bra off and dropped it on the floor with the rest of my clothes. I took the pyjama top from him, and put it on. Then I walked over to the dresser and took out a pair of his boxers and exchanged them for my panties. I walked back over to the bed, and got under the covers. Damon stripped down to his boxers and joined me in bed. I nuzzled back into the crook of his neck and I instantly fell asleep in his arms.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

**Elena's POV**

I woke up, still wrapped up in Damon's loving arms, my head moving with his chest as he breathed. I found that quite odd that he was breathing. This vampire stuff is weird, I thought. I moved my head slightly and gazed at Damon's face. His beautiful, beautiful face. I wanted to do something. Surprise him. I could make him breakfast. But he only drinks blood. Wait, I thought. I remembered something he said to me a few years back… something like as long as vampires keep a healthy diet of blood, their body functions normally. Huh. Well I never.

I slowly unwrapped myself from him, and quietly hopped out of bed. I began to make my way across the room when I stepped into a part of the room where the sun was pouring in. as soon as I stepped into it, searing pain ran through my body; I felt like I was on fire. I screamed instantly, screamed so loudly that I was surprised the whole of Mystic Falls didn't arrive at my doorstep. All of a sudden, Damon had whipped out of bed and whisked me out of the light and into the cool, dark safety of his bathroom. I was still stinging, but the pain was going slowly. It was too much for me. I looked up at Damon long enough to see the worried expression on his face before passing out.

When I came round, I was back in Damon's bed, with the curtains tightly shut. Damon was somewhere far away; I could just about make his voice out. I think he was on the phone. He sounded urgent, angry and anxious all at the same time. I felt terrible for making him like this. How could I forget that I can't walk in the sun? I needed a daylight ring. Oh. Bonnie, that must be who Damon is talking to, I realised. I decided to stay in bed and wait for Damon to return. I never appreciated how soft his bed was. For someone who puts on the tough guy act, he sure loved to be cosy. Tempur-pedic mattress, Egyptian cotton sheets and a soft comforter; the sheets on his bed were a rich burgundy colour, with a darker burgundy blanket to accompany it. I loved Damon's room. It was perfect. I loved having a bathroom in his bedroom, I loved the dark furnishings, and I loved how it felt so right being here. I sat up against the headboard, and arranged the pillows so that I was comfy, waiting for my perfect vampire to return.

He came back moments later, carrying a cup of tea. He sat down on the bed next to me, put the cup on the bedside table and held my hand.

"Bonnie's on her way over," Damon said, with a half smile.

"How did you convince her?" I asked. Bonnie had kept herself hidden from everyone since the spirits attacked her Grams, and it was really doubtful that she would ever do magic again.

"I told her you needed her, and she said she'd help," Damon said. I know he was giving me the short story, which was good because I didn't care much for the long story. Damon knew exactly what I needed, and I loved him for it. I suddenly felt so much gratitude for Damon that I leapt onto him, and hugged him for dear life. I then realised that I was straddling him, and I was in nothing but a shirt and his boxers. I smiled at him, gazing deep into his ice blue eyes, whilst he gazed back into my dark brown ones. So this is what love feels like, I thought. We both leaned in for a kiss, when the doorbell rang. Great timing Bonnie, I thought. I jumped off Damon, feeling all flustered and I grabbed my clothes and skipped off to get changed whilst Damon got the door.

I quickly put on my jeans and top that I wore yesterday, and ran downstairs to see Bonnie. She didn't look too good at all. She looked like she hadn't slept in years. I wasn't sure if I should or could hug her. She was my best friend, and she needed me, and she was here for me. I ran and hugged her. Thankfully she hugged me back. We let go, and I held onto her hand.

"Thank you so much for coming, Bonnie. I really need your help!" I said, and I couldn't help but smile. I smiled because I was so happy to see her, but I also wanted to reassure her that everything was going to be okay.

"What do you need?" Bonnie sounded almost like her old self, but I felt like she was putting it on. Her eyes were so tired and she looked like she was about to give up.

I wasn't sure how much Damon had told Bonnie, I don't know if she knew about me being a vampire, and either way I wasn't sure how she would react. I looked to Damon, to see if he had any give-away signs to indicate whether bonnie knew or not. He looked at me and shook his head. I knew immediately why he hadn't told her. He knew that it should be me to tell her.

"Maybe you should sit down," I gestured towards the couch. We sat down, and I explained to her everything that had happened. After I told her I was a vampire, tears fell from her eyes, but I could tell that she knew there was no way it could have been prevented. She gave me a hug.

"I'll make you a daylight ring. Give me a few hours to find the perfect one!" she smiled, and left.

I turned back to see Damon, who was smiling at me. I ran at him, jumped onto him and clung to him like a monkey. The sheer force made him spin around; it was very romantic! We stopped turning and just gazed into each other's eyes, my legs wrapped around his body, just like a scene in a movie. In that moment of just falling into each other's eyes, it felt like the world had stopped turning just to give us this, even though we had an infinite number of moments. It was now that I realised how grateful I was to be a vampire. And I also realised that I was in love with Damon Salvatore.

**Damons' POV**

We were caught in such a beautiful moment. I had the woman of my dreams in my arms, draped around my body, clinging onto me tight and we were staring into each other's eyes, taking in the beauty of our faces. Elena's warm, beautiful brown eyes were swallowing up my icy blue eyes. I now understood what Charlie meant when he said 'and in that moment, I swear we were infinite'. Elena and I were infinite. She was mine, and I was hers. We are in love, and all it took was our bodies entwined to realise.

Do I kiss her? I thought. Is this romantic enough? Elena deserves more than this. She deserves flowers, jewellery and to be swept off her feet (not literally, in the do loads of romantic things' sense).

Should I wait? But what if it backfires? What if this moment is more romantic than what I could plan for us? They say that planning comes with disappointment.

I'm gonna do it. I'm going to kiss my girl.

**Elena's POV**

Damon let go of my waist, and moved his heads up towards my face. He placed his left hand on my right cheek, and used his right hand to move my hair behind my ear before leaving his hand on my jaw. I knew what he was going to, what we were going to do. We were going to kiss. We'd kissed before, but the last time was passionate and sexual. This time it was romantic. This time it was going to be the start of us. Damon and I. Elena and Damon.

And I was ready for it.


End file.
